Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Durham City in the Great War
    Durham City in the Great War
    Durham City in the Great War
    Ebook196 pages2 hours

    Durham City in the Great War

    By Stephen Wynn

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Durham was, and still is, one of the country's oldest and best-loved cites. The very name was synonymous with dedication, dependability and determination. Men from the city answered the call to arms with an eerie normality, no matter what their age or social class. Many had been miners before the war and had spent their working life down a pit, but just as many had been teachers. Others were students at the Durham School, one of the most prestigious in the land, going on to further greatness at Durham University. When the announcement of war was made, they all enlisted to do their duty for King and country. They asked nothing in return, despite knowing the inherent dangers of what they were about to do. They carried on regardless, selfless in their readiness to give to a greater cause.There was a similar determination amongst the city's people. For some that meant working for the local Voluntary Aid Detachment or the Durham Volunteer Training Corps, whilst still going about their day job. They knew that no matter how hard things were for them, it was much more trying for their sons, brothers, husbands, uncles and other loved ones who were fighting on the Western Front.Hundreds went off to fight in the war: men who had been born in the city, who lived and were educated in the city, and men who had worked in the city. Some 360 of them never made it home. They are gone, but never forgotten.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateFeb 28, 2017
    ISBN9781473865082
    Durham City in the Great War
    Author

    Stephen Wynn

    Stephen is a retired police officer having served with Essex Police as a constable for thirty years between 1983 and 2013. He is married to Tanya and has two sons, Luke and Ross, and a daughter, Aimee. His sons served five tours of Afghanistan between 2008 and 2013 and both were injured. This led to the publication of his first book, Two Sons in a Warzone – Afghanistan: The True Story of a Father’s Conflict, published in October 2010. Both Stephen’s grandfathers served in and survived the First World War, one with the Royal Irish Rifles, the other in the Mercantile Marine, whilst his father was a member of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the Second World War.When not writing Stephen can be found walking his three German Shepherd dogs with his wife Tanya, at some unearthly time of the morning, when most normal people are still fast asleep.

    Read more from Stephen Wynn

    Related to Durham City in the Great War

    Related ebooks

    European History For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The King At The Walls

      Mar 2, 2023

      The battle at Northampton was the first major encounter in the conflict often described today as the ‘Second Barons’ War’, which broke out amid an extraordinary period of radicalpolitics in England. In 1258, a group of magnates, including the earls o

      6 min read

    • Article

      Anniversaries

      Dec 28, 2022

      Anniversaries
      5 min read

    • Article

      HEROES & VILLAINS

      Feb 3, 2023

      HEROES & VILLAINS
      4 min read

    • Article

      War And Peace

      Dec 21, 2023

      War And Peace
      5 min read

    • Article

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER

      Apr 16, 2020

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER
      9 min read

    • Article

      The People’s Republic Of Britain

      Mar 17, 2022

      On 5 March 1650, early in the life of the new Commonwealth of England, a state funeral was held. There was a stellar turn-out for Roland Wilson, army officer and politician. Almost the whole of the new political establishment was there: the head of t

      6 min read

    • Article

      Letters

      Feb 16, 2023

      really enjoyed the article on British Restaurants (Eat for Victory, January). A lesser-known aspect is their role during the Second World War in providing a hot lunch service to schoolchildren. By 1942 the local school in the village of Knowle, then

      4 min read

    • Article

      Ships Library

      Dec 22, 2023

      Ships Library
      3 min read

    • Article

      Not On Our WATCH

      Dec 17, 2021

      On the bar of the Old Brewhouse restaurant in Scotland’s scenic east coast town of Arbroath, there is an iron cannon ball mounted on a wooden plinth. Few customers can be aware that this is a relic of a minor incident of the American Revolutionary Wa

      7 min read

    • Article

      If God Is For Us

      Oct 27, 2020

      If God Is For Us
      10 min read

    • Article

      Q&A

      Jun 10, 2021

      Q&A
      4 min read

    • Article

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER

      Feb 16, 2023

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER
      6 min read

    • Article

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER

      Aug 5, 2021

      Q&A YOU ASK, WE ANSWER
      8 min read

    • Article

      Anniversaries

      Apr 15, 2021

      Troops cross the Irish Sea to help a disgraced king regain his throne Dermot MacMurrough, king of Leinster (shown below) has not had a good press. According to the historian Gerald of Wales, he was “a man who liked better to be feared by all than lov

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Dunkirk Evacuation Had Failed?

      Dec 2, 2021

      Joshua Levine practised as a barrister before becoming an actor and writer. He has written several books on the subject of the two World Wars and served as the historical consultant on the 2017 film Dunkirk. Between 26 May and 4 June 1940, a vast ope

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Making Of A Monarch

      Nov 24, 2022

      The Making Of A Monarch
      6 min read

    • Article

      Edinburgh’s Burning

      Nov 7, 2021

      Edinburgh’s Burning
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Gentleman’s War

      May 30, 2019

      A Gentleman’s War
      9 min read

    • Article

      Kent Through The Ages

      Jan 30, 2024

      The coastal towns of Dover, Hythe, Romney, Hastings and Sandwich provide ships and men for Edward the Confessor. They will become known as the Cinque Ports. Canterbury Cathedral by four knights loyal to Henry II. The city subsequently becomes a place

      1 min read

    • Article

      Land Fit For The Fallen

      Oct 30, 2017

      Land Fit For The Fallen
      8 min read

    • Article

      Blitz Spirit

      Aug 25, 2020

      Blitz Spirit
      5 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Durham City in the Great War

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Durham City in the Great War - Stephen Wynn

      CHAPTER 1

      1914 Starting Out

      By 11 pm on 4 August 1914, Great Britain would be at war with Germany. Although the time given for the ultimatum for Germany to be out of Belgium had not been adhered to, it would have been more of a shock if war had not begun than if it had. The government in Berlin had decided that their best course of action was to say nothing in return.

      An early war recruitment poster.

      But preparations were already in hand throughout the United Kingdom. At just after four o’clock in the morning on Tuesday, 4 August 1914 a train arrived at Durham Railway Station in North Road. On board were soldiers from the 8th Battalion, Durham Light Infantry, a Territorial unit which had just returned from their annual camp at Conway in North Wales. On their arrival they marched through the streets of Durham before coming to a halt in the market square where some of the battalion set up an improvised camp which included a field kitchen, whilst the remainder carried on to the Drill Hall at nearby Gilesgate.

      A second train arrived at North Road railway station an hour later at, which saw the arrival of even more members of the 8th Battalion, who then marched off to join their colleagues, led by the regimental band. During the course of the day the men drew much attention from inquisitive members of the public, who were intrigued to see them cooking and singing in the town square.

      A family soon to be separated by the war.

      Durham Light Infantry Band – officers in the front row.

      To add to the excitement and furore of the City’s market square having been taken over by men in khaki, was the sight and sound of the Royal Field Artillery and their large artillery pieces trundling through the streets later in the day, on their way to be put in place as part of the north-east coastal defence system.

      * * *

      On Tuesday, 11 August 1914, with the war entering its second week, a public meeting took place at Durham Town Hall. It had been called for the purpose of enabling men, who for a variety of reasons were unable to enlist in the armed forces, to do their bit on the home front should the need occur.

      For some it was business reasons, whilst for others it was because of family matters, which meant that they just couldn’t rush off to war, even if they had wanted to, a business that needed somebody to physically be there to run it on a daily basis, or ailing parents who would have nobody to look after them, their only option then to become inmates at the local workhouse. The men who couldn’t go were more than happy to serve in a locally-based civilian corps, whilst still going about their daily business.

      The Mayor of Durham, Councillor Charles Caldcleugh, who presided over the meeting, opened proceedings by saying that the war which the country now found itself embroiled in, was one which had been forced upon them by Germany and her emperor. He continued the patriotic rhetoric by declaring that Britain needed to sweep the German fleet from the seas, words which were met with loud and raucous applause.

      The Dean of Durham, who also addressed the meeting, started off with conciliatory words of comfort, and highlighted the strength and unity which he believed the people of Durham had in abundance. For him, the issue of the war was what would prevail. Would it be what he referred to as the ‘brutal militarism of Germany’ or ‘the free and selfrespecting democracy of Great Britain’. Britain was after all one of the superpowers of the day and the Dean saw her as being the ‘ancient guardian of human liberty’, and they could not just stand by and watch whilst smaller and weaker nations were crushed underfoot and swallowed up by German imperialism. He pointed out that Germany was a very noble nation, but it was the military oligarchy who ran the country that brought shame and disgrace upon its people, a stain which he believed would eventually be its downfall.

      The meeting certainly wasn’t found wanting when it came to platitudes and a feeling of national pride, as these were both present in abundance. Dr John Wilson, MP, spoke at the meeting and said, ‘if there was any Mad Mullah in this universe, it was a man called the German Emperor’. This sort of rhetoric was normal for the day, and almost expected. People almost needed to hear that Germany was a bad, monstrous uncontrollable beast whilst Britain and her allies were fighting for good and the freedom of civilization. Mr J.W. Hills MP told the audience that those men who were fortunate enough not to be too old, and who were free from family and domestic ties, should do their bit and enlist, in response to the request made by Lord Kitchener for 100,000 more men. By the end of the meeting a committee had been appointed, and it was decided to form a local regiment, the Durham National Emergency Volunteers.

      * * *

      The first real tragedy to befall Durham since the country had been at war with Germany came not in the form of somebody having being told that a loved one had been killed on the Western Front, but from the double murder of a mother and her child back home in a quiet and God-fearing neighbourhood of the city. The peaceful existence of a loving family, who were liked and well thought-of by their friends and neighbours, was sadly and dramatically shattered early one Thursday morning. Everybody was left shocked and distraught, not only at the brutality of the murders, but at who was responsible for them.

      The city’s coroner, Mr Cadle, held an inquest into the deaths of Mrs Annie Lancaster and her son, Robert, aged 9, who were both found dead in their home at Wheat Sheaf Yard, on Thursday, 13 August. Their throats had been cut. John Lancaster, a labourer by trade, and the husband and father of the pair, had left the house just prior to the bodies being discovered. So savage was the attack on Mrs Lancaster, that her head had almost been severed from her body.

      They had lived in the three-bedroomed house, which was situated at the rear of a public house, for fourteen years. It was ascertained that Mr and Mrs Lancaster had been arguing on the morning of the murders, but generally they were described by neighbours as being a hard-working couple and not known for their arguing.

      Annie’s son John Richard Lancaster, affectionately known as Dick, who would have been 20 years of age at the time, had identified the bodies of both his mother and brother. Once this had been done, the coroner adjourned the inquest until Thursday, 20 August, as he said that Mr Lancaster, if he was still alive, had a right to be present to hear the evidence and ask any questions that he might have.

      Annie Lancaster.

      The events of that tragic day have been pieced together by Dick’s great-grandson. Dick Lancaster left for work as usual at around six o’clock in the morning, and made his way to the nearby railway station. When he left for work, his father John was already up, getting ready to go to work himself, whilst his mother Annie was still wrapped up nice and warm in bed, cuddled up to her 9-year-old son Robert. As it turned out John didn’t end up going in to work that day as he had diarrhoea, and didn’t feel well enough to leave the house.

      A bit later, when everyone in the house was up and about, Robert, who was known as Bobbie, his brother Herbert and sister Annie, went out to play, leaving just Annie and John at home. Sometime during the morning, Bobbie returned home on his own. At around eleven o’clock, Annie went out to buy lunch for her son Dick, who was due home at twelve noon. She was back home before 11.30 am, having purchased a meat pie from Middleton’s Butchers.

      At 11.45 am, a neighbour, Mrs Bridgett Delves, who lived in the next house above the Lancaster’s, was going down to the yard, when she spotted Annie through her open front door. She was about to go and speak with her when she noticed John sat at the kitchen table, so she changed her mind and went about her business, calling out, ‘Oh, I will see you after Mrs Lancaster.’ About five minutes later, another of Annie’s neighbours, a Mrs Olsen, discovered Annie’s Persian kitten, which had wandered in to her house. Knowing how dear it was to her, she decided to take it back to her just in case it went missing. When she arrived at Annie’s home she knocked on the door but there was no reply. She tried to open the door but it appeared to be locked. She looked through the window but could not see anybody, so went round the back to look through the kitchen window, but still couldn’t see anyone, so she tapped on the window. A short while later John appeared in the kitchen and Mrs Olsen spoke to him through the closed window, and asked him to take the kitten. A short while later John opened the kitchen door and stepped out. Mrs Olsen was shocked at what she saw. John had blood smeared across his face, and in one of his hands, which was noticeably shaking, he had an open razor which was dripping with blood. John then said, ‘Oh Mrs Olsen. I’ve cut myself whilst shaving.’ He then took the kitten, went back into the house, shut the kitchen door behind him, and locked it.

      Mrs Olsen was now very concerned as John had seemed somewhat agitated and the amount of blood was far too much to be consistent with somebody cutting themselves shaving. She shouted up to another neighbour, Mrs Hughes, to ask if she had seen anything of Annie, but she hadn’t. Moments later another neighbour, a Mrs Delves joined Mrs Olsen in the yard. Minutes later Annie’s son Dick returned home for his lunch. On seeing him walk in to the yard, Mrs Olsen ran down to him and told him to get home as quick as he could as she felt that something was wrong. Dick did as Mrs Olsen suggested, only to find the kitchen door was locked. His father suddenly opened the door to the kitchen and Dick went inside, closing the door behind him, leaving Mrs Olsen and Mrs Delves outside in the yard, still wondering what exactly was going on.

      Dick was actually surprised to find his father home at that time of the day, expecting him to be away at his work.

      ‘What are you doing home?’ he asked his father.

      ‘I don’t feel well. I’ve got sickness and diarrhoea.’ he replied.

      ‘Where is my mother?’ Dick enquired.

      ‘She’s gone out for your dinner.’ John replied.

      The Lancaster family home at Wheat Sheaf Yard.

      Dick opened the back door to go and tell Mrs Olsen and Mrs Delves that his mother had gone out to get his lunch, but Mrs Olsen protested that couldn’t be the case as she had seen her return home and none of the other neighbours had seen her leave the house since. Mrs Olsen advised him to go and look in the scullery. Dick agreed and asked Mrs Olsen to go with him but she refused, still scared from talking with John earlier.

      Dick went back inside on his own, but left the door unlocked and open behind him. His father appeared suddenly from the back of the kitchen. ‘Look at my neck.’ John said. ‘I have cut myself shaving.’ There was a one-inch cut on the side of his neck and his hands were covered in blood. Dick could immediately sense something was wrong and that what his father was telling him simply didn’t add up. He barged past his father to get to the back kitchen, who then followed behind him. At the back of the kitchen was the scullery which was separated only by a curtain. Dick moved it to one side to discover a pile of carpets and curtains which were thrown in a heap in the corner, with a bicycle strangely laid one top of the pile.

      ‘Why are all these things piled up in the corner?’ Dick shouted out, but John didn’t answer, instead slipping

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1